Hanover, Ind. - The Franklin College women's tennis team continued its strong play this spring with an 8-1 road victory over Hanover College on Sunday. The Grizzlies avenged a 5-4 loss from the fall that gave the Panthers the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title.

Franklin (12-5) quickly took control of the match by winning on two of the three doubles courts. The sophomore duo of Melissa Sanders (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North) and Chelsea Howell (West Harrison, Ind./Franklin County) recorded an 8-5 victory at No. 1 doubles. Junior Becky Bonomini (Lawrenceburg, Ind./East Central) teamed with freshman Emily Helvie (Batesville, Ind./Batesville) to win 8-2 at No. 3 doubles.

The Grizzlies swept all six singles matches. Sophomore Shawnee Bayes (Lexington, Ind./Austin) did not drop a game in winning on the No. 6 court. Sanders was also victorious 8-0 at the top of the singles lineup.

Junior Bethany Harris (Avon, Ind./Avon) recorded an 8-1 triumph at No. 2 singles. Freshman Kayla Walker (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) picked up her eighth singles win of the season at the No. 5 singles position. Sophomore Emily Roberts (Franklin, Ind./Edinburgh) won 8-3 at No. 3 singles. Howell rounded out the winners by an 8-3 score on the No. 4 court.

Franklin returns to action on Thursday, April 24 at 5 p.m. when it closes out the season with a home match against Manchester University from the Mickel-Hoover Tennis Complex.